When the Devil's in the pulpit and the Hero's on the Cross

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Up in smoke: Afghani drugs, progress in Kandahar

RAF Harrier jump jets have blown up the world’s biggest drug haul in Afghanistan by dropping three 1,000lb bombs on a 237-ton stash of cannabis.

The haul – worth £225million and weighing more than 30 double-decker buses – was unearthed by the Special Boat Service and local commandos.

The drugs were first stuffed into grain sacks and buried in six trenches covering an area the size of two football pitches.

Officials believe the area – near to the Taliban stronghold of Quetta in Pakistan – was turning dried cannabis leaves into heroin.

To be fair, maybe the officials in question were just high. In addition to the massive hash stash, somewhere between 2.5 and 5 tons of opium also went up in the strike.

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Meanwhile, in more sobering news from the war in Afghanistan, the Taliban have apparently struck a notable victory, hitting the Sarposa Prison in Kandahar. As many as 1,200 inmates are estimated to have escaped, including 390 alleged Taliban fighters. Ahmed Wali Karzai, head of the Kandahar provincial council and brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, made the obvious statement: “It is very dangerous for security,” he said. “They are the most experienced killers and they all managed to escape.”